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Some people just aren't wired to understand mechanical/electrical stuff. They're not interested, lack that particular aptitude, or both.

We humans are a mixed bag. That's a good thing

i will go you one further, some people are not hard wired to understand much of anything. i have come across people that have no clue about much of anything, including their own jobs. and instead of asking questions and trying to learn, even their own job, they just make things up as they go along and all to often no one calls them out on it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean1the1

Why does one exchange represents everyone? It sounds like you're saying you the "smartest" of them all is the only one that knows how to drive a car, and one person not knowing as much as you and that automatically means everyone does not know how to drive. The arrogance in this statement.

i think you misunderstand the issue here. he isnt saying that this person he helped is less of a person than he is, he is just saying that she didnt take the time to learn something about her car, even something basic like where the parking brake release lever is. these are things you need to know when operating a motor vehicle. i say operating because most people dont really know how to drive, they just know how to operate the controls, and that isnt driving.

Quote:

Originally Posted by easy62

I learned on my own and to this day i can drive any vehicle in the road including a semi. The drivers ed I took back in 1970 and I learned on big ole Pontiac Catalina that had 2 keys for the ignition and the trunk and door locks. All they showed us In drivers ed was the rules of the road, since every vehicle is different you learned on the fly how to drive them. I could drive a 3 on the tree and a 4 on the floor when i was 14 years old self tought on my fathers vehicles and a vehicle my older brother go me in 1970 a 1959 VW bug with a 4 speed 6 volt electric system. Iíve changed flat tires that had lug nuts, and wheel studs.

yep, even a few years later when i took drivers ed, we had driving simulators that we used to learn to operate a motor vehicle, before we could take the behind the wheel class. of course by the time i got into the behind the wheel class, i had my license, and i had learned many of the details of driving, including the need for precision driving, from my father who had many years of professional driving experience under his belt.

Helped a female coworker change her tire on her 2009 Chevy Tahoe. After we changed her tire she asked for help because we had set the parking brake and she didn’t know how to release the parking brake.

Seriously, does anyone bother to learn the basic fundamentals of their vehicle before driving? When I am about to drive a vehicle for the first time the first thing I do is learn where the controls are and how to operate them. Controls being things like headlights, windshield wipers, hazards lights, parking brake, climate control, and mirror adjustments (since some are manual and some are powered). I don’t even start the vehicle before becoming familiar with where these controls are located and how to operate them. Do today’s drivers education courses teach such things before the student drives the car? Do they teach them mechanical basics like checking fluids and air filters? Do they teach them how to change basic stuff like changing wiper blades, changing air filters, or adding fluid as needed? This lady didn’t know why we set the brake just to jack up the Tahoe to change a tire. Didn’t even bother to ask if she knew she needed to set the brake when parking on incline or decline or other situations. Before you ask, she was in her twenties.

At least in this specific case I don't know why she chose to use the parking brake since she didn't know how to release it - maybe she was just all nervous and upset about the flat? Just saying, people do weird things in "unusual" situations and getting a flat is pretty unusual these days.

Thing is, cars have become so reliable that you rarely have to know much and even if you learned how to fix a flat when you were 16, if you haven't had to do it in 20 years (and now you have a "new fangled" vehicle with weird wrench/jack/spare) you might be flummoxed. And yeah, they rarely have driver's ed in school now, so I hear - you have to go to a driving school where I'd imagine you get even less training in the basics and more just to pass the test.

Also, there are a zillion more controls on cars now, and much variation from one to another, plus they change the design more often - all contributing to tough transitions. This is NOT the 1950's...or even the 2000's

At least in this specific case I don't know why she chose to use the parking brake since she didn't know how to release it - maybe she was just all nervous and upset about the flat? Just saying, people do weird things in "unusual" situations and getting a flat is pretty unusual these days.

Thing is, cars have become so reliable that you rarely have to know much and even if you learned how to fix a flat when you were 16, if you haven't had to do it in 20 years (and now you have a "new fangled" vehicle with weird wrench/jack/spare) you might be flummoxed. And yeah, they rarely have driver's ed in school now, so I hear - you have to go to a driving school where I'd imagine you get even less training in the basics and more just to pass the test.

Also, there are a zillion more controls on cars now, and much variation from one to another, plus they change the design more often - all contributing to tough transitions. This is NOT the 1950's...or even the 2000's

She didnít set the brake. We set the brake before jacking up the Tahoe.

Most people don’t use the e brake wits auto transmission unless parked on a steep incline. And then you put your foot on the brake and shift into nutural and then release the e brake then put transmission into drive. But how many people park on a incline. Hell i never used my e brake wheel i drove a manual also.

Most people donít use the e brake wits auto transmission unless parked on a steep incline. And then you put your foot on the brake and shift into nutural and then release the e brake then put transmission into drive. But how many people park on a incline. Hell i never used my e brake wheel i drove a manual also.

Keeping it in 1st always sufficed, just remember to out your foot on the clutch before turning the key, yes?

It was a used car, there is never an owners manual. And it was too dark to read.

All three vehicles I have owned I have bought used. All three came with the owner's manual. If the car doesn't come with one, you could probably buy one.

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